One Killer Maze

Chapter 32

Y/N was up before anyone else was.

Her mind was pounding with different thoughts. The smell of rain in the air existed only from last night. A small drizzle perhaps, the smoke was gone, but the smell of it still lingered on her clothes. The hoodie she wore clung to her body, but not in an uncomfortable way.

In a way, it felt like someone was giving her a brief hug, right before battle.

A hug...maybe that's what she needed.

Y/N yawned, sitting up from her blanket, the cloth having been curled and creased in some places during her sleep. It was odd, with no weird memories and no visits from Candy Pop. It didn't seem like they had been attacked last night either by any of the killers that were wandering about. What was going on?

Slowly standing to her feet, the H/C haired contestant stretched her legs and her body, going a bit easy on her more sore areas due to the so-called war Sasha had announced against them. The keys felt heavier on her neck today as if they were reminding her that this was the reason he wanted bloodshed.

She was the reason that people were going to die today.

"Y/N." A voice greeted her when she exited the small fort where Barbara, Sarah, and herself had slept the night before. She saw Norrington sitting underneath a tree not too far away. A puddle of murky water was formed in front of him, water dripping from the leaves that hung over his head. Y/N nodded in return, becoming a bit nervous due to the frustration she had released on him and the others yesterday.

The brunette didn't say anything, but he motioned to the fallen log that lay nearby, for her to take a seat. She swallowed and made her way over, taking her time in doing so.

Tugging the hoodie down a bit more, she sat down, shivering as some of the dampness seeped into the hoodie, but didn't go any farther than that.

"I know what you said last night didn't mean any harm," he spoke so she didn't have to, "you were nervous.. Like all of us are."

She watched him, some of her H/C hair falling in front of her eyes then shifted her gaze to the ground and nodded. Her fingers were tangled together and she rubbed them against each other nervously.

"But you have to trust in them okay? Trust us today."

Y/N glanced up, spotting his grim smile.

"I won't lie to you. People are going to die, I'm sure of that. This fight might take longer than what we expect." He turned his head over to the forts where the others slept, "all we have to do is prepare and trust each other."

Trust...

"I..." She spoke without knowing what she was going to say, but the words rolled off her tongue, "I'm sorry."

An amused exhale caught her attention and she looked over to the older male. He smiled, this time it wasn't full of worry or built-up anticipation. It was a genuine smile; something she hadn't seen him do before.

"I know. The others are too." He stood, wiping a few droplets of water that had landed just above his bandaged head. Norrington stepped over to Y/N and placed a hand on her shoulder, her right one, and squeezed lightly.

"We're glad you're here, Y/N," he released his soft grip and turned his attention to somewhere else.

The female listened as his presence disappeared, footsteps crossing to the other side of the camp where she had come from before. He was probably going to wake the others.

At their cue, slowly, Barbara emerged from the fort first, wiping her eyes. Levi emerged from the one next to it, looking as if he had been awake for a while now. There were voices coming from inside the one Levi had exited and could only assume Ronan was refusing to leave.